Monthly Meal Plan for October

I am aware how tight money can be in the run up to Christmas, I have several birthdays in the month of December to budget for. Since we are recovering from recession, and I am on a very low income, I have started to watch every penny through carefully managed budget and cash flow spreadsheets.

As a mum to two young children, I am aware how difficult organising wholesome meals can be on a daily basis. Coming into Winter, I like to make sure they have a full belly of good, hot food and I also like to watch my spends on food.

My usual set up is to do a monthly shop at the beginning of the month for all the stuff that will keep long enough to buy then. I set aside £100 to do this. Then I have a weekly budget to pick up fresher bits, like fruit and vegetables, or bread and milk. This costs me £30 a week.

So in a month like October I would budget £250 for food. Plus another £50 for toiletries. Included in this £300 are things like cleaning products, nappies, washing powder and softener, and toilet rolls.

I am aiming to produce a monthly and weekly shopping list before the end of September, along with a meal planner for the main evening meals, in the effort to see whether being more organised can also save money. Even if it doesn't, I'm removing a lot of the stress from next month, and making sure we have a proper meal every night, where usually I might turn to takeaway, or do a "bung-it-in-the-oven" meal.

You're welcome to use the meal planner in it's entirety when I do put it up. A lot of the recipes I have found on the internet for reference, I tend to follow them vaguely most of the time as I like to make it my own. If I haven't included a recipe, it is because I plan to make it from memory. If I get time, I can probably stick my recipes up on here, but I won't make promises I might not keep.

I should be finished the meal planner soon. Then I will organise the shopping lists for the monthly and weekly shops, with an estimated costs on it. During the month, I'll post my progress, and highlight any problems I had and at the end of the month, I'll post a conclusion as to whether or not I saved any money.